Tag: mystery

Book Review: The Innkeeper’s Sister, by Linda Goodnight

the innkeeper's sister
Image belongs to Harlequin.

Grayson Blake and his brother have come home to Honey Ridge, Tennessee to turn an old gristmill into one of their up-and-coming restaurants. Grayson has a strict schedule he plans to stick to, no matter what. Time is money, after all. But when an old skeleton is found in the basement of the mill, his schedule comes to a screeching halt.

Valerie Carter is a former ballet dancer and now co-owner of a charming inn in Honey Ridge. The secrets from her past haunt her, as does the love of the dance she still yearns for. Regret and memories threaten to overwhelm her, when she meets Grayson and finds herself swept into a Civil War-era mystery that ties the skeleton in the mill with her beloved Peach Orchard Inn.

I didn’t realize The Innkeeper’s Sister was part of a series when I started reading. Fortunately, it’s also a standalone, so readers who haven’t read the other books will be fine. I’m from the South, and this novel is Southern through-and-through, from the sweet iced tea to the everything-is-perfect façade put on by Valerie’s mother. Both Grayson and Valerie have faced tragedy in their lives, tragedy they are still struggling to overcome. There are two storylines here:  the modern-day one of Valerie and Grayson, and the Civil War one that tells the story of the skeleton in the mill. Both lend depth to each other, and strengthen the family bonds of the Carters. An uplifting story about characters that are flawed and struggling to find their strengths while overcoming their weaknesses.

Linda Goodnight is a best-selling and award-winning fiction writer. Her newest novel is The Innkeeper’s Sister, part of the Honey Ridge series.

(Galley provided by Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Emma in the Night, by Wendy Walker

emma
Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press.

Three years ago, sisters Emma and Cass disappeared one night, leaving no trace of where they’d gone—or why they left. Then Cass shows up at the family home, alone. She tells a story of kidnapping and being held on a mysterious island against her will, and is desperate for the police to find Emma.

But forensic psychologist Abby Winter sees holes in Cass’s story, and it will take delving into her own past to uncover the truth hidden behind a narcissistic mother who twisted the lives of her daughters until they no longer knew the truth. Only Abby can find Emma, because even Cass doesn’t know the true story.

Emma in the Night is not a happy family tale. Not in the least. Cass and Emma’s family is troubled, controlled by their narcissistic mother, an expert at twisting things to get what she wants. There are so many twists in this story! While I knew Cass wasn’t telling the whole truth—there are little signs of that—I had no idea what the truth actually was. The author does a great job of drawing the reader in and bringing them along for a ride filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Wendy Walker is a former lawyer who now writes psychological thrillers. Emma in the Night is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Girl on the Verge, by Pintip Dunn

girl on the verge
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

Kanchana doesn’t look like anyone else in her small Kansas town, and even her friends say things that prove they don’t think she belongs. At home, her Thai grandmother tells her she’s too westernized. The only place she’s comfortable is when she’s designing and making clothes in secret. When her mother brings home a teenage girl named Shelly, Kan thinks she’s finally found a true friend.

At first, things are great, with Shelly admiring everything about Kan, including the boy she likes. But soon it’s like Shelly is trying to take over her life, including copying Kan’s appearance. So Kan investigates Shelly’s past, and finds dark secrets about Shelly—and her own family—that she never imaged.

I read Girl on the Verge in less than 24 hours. I could not put it down! I loved how Kan struggles to bridge the gap between her heritage, and the culture she lives in (Okay, I don’t love the struggle, but I love that it’s depicted.). The relationship between Kan and her grandmother is full of layers and a deep love, but secrets abide there as well. The creepiness of Shelly and her fixation on Kan grew slowly, and the ending was very well-done. Fast-paced with several twists, I highly recommend this book!

Pintip Dunn lives in Maryland and writes YA fiction. Girl on the Verge is her newest novel, on sale today.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

 

 

Book Review: Murder on Black Swan Lane, by Andrea Penrose

murder on black swan lane
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

The Earl of Wrexford isn’t your average aristocrat:  for starters, he has a keen scientific mind and an interest in chemistry. Secondly, he has no time for fools and doesn’t care what the rest of society thinks of him. When Reverend Holworthy publicly condemns him for his wickedness, he retaliates, and the war of words escalates, and cartoonist A.J. Quill uses the feud as fodder, drawing even more attention. Then the reverend is found dead, with chemical burns, and Wrexford finds himself the primary suspect.

Charlotte Sloane is a talented artist, but knows the public would never follow a female cartoonist, so she uses her late husband’s pen name to put food on the table…at the expense of the rich and famous she scathingly depicts. When the Earl of Wrexford figures out her identity, she’s afraid he’ll expose her. Instead, he seeks her help in solving the mystery of the reverend’s death before he swings for the crime. But the crime has roots in dark secrets, and the perpetrator will stop at nothing to see that they fail, even adding more victims to the list.

Murder on Black Swan Lane is a richly-detailed story set in Regency England. Charlotte is an engaging character, full of curiosity and a secretive past, but determined to make her own way in the world. Wrexford is fascinating, with his dry sense of humor, brilliant mind, and disdain for traditions. Together, the two of them enter a dark and twisted world full of secrets that takes them places they’d never imagined.

Andrea Penrose is a romance author who writes under several pen names. Murder on Black Swan Lane is her newest book, the first book in the Wrexford & Sloane Regency series.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Part of the Silence, by Debbie Howells

Part ofthe Silence
Image belongs to Kensington Books.

The Cornwall coast is a quiet place of haunting beauty. Not much happens there. Evie Sherman is found battered and almost dead in a field, with no memory of who she is.  When flickers of her memory return, the community comes together to search for her missing daughter, Angel. The only thing Evie knows for sure is that Angel is in terrible danger.

But the police can find no trace that Angel exists and soon start to wonder if Evie’s having a mental breakdown as scenes from the past exert their pull on the present. And as the darkness around Evie deepens, her internal warning—Trust no one—grows stronger, as she searches for the daughter she remembers when no one else believes.

Debbie Howells is a former flight instructor with an expertise in wedding flowers. Her newest novel, Part of the Silence, hits stores on June 27th.

The setting in Part of the Silence is as much a character as Evie is, and now I really want to visit Cornwall. Not by myself, since the novel is a bit creepy, though. I enjoyed the mystery of the novel, both the present-day one, and the linked one in the past, although I did not feel a connection to the characters—possibly because Evie did not trust any of them.

(Galley provided by Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Patchwork, by Karsten Knight

patchwork
Image belongs to Karsten Knight.

Karsten Knight lives in Boston and writes YA fiction. His newest novel is Patchwork.

Renata Lake expects prom night to be full of the typical things one finds on prom night: moonlight, dancing, teenage hormones, and an epic prank by her group of friends involving throwing a dead body over the side of the boat into Boston Harbor. What she doesn’t expect is a proposal or a bomb explosion, leaving real bodies in the water before she sinks beneath the waves.

Renata wakes up in Patchwork, a ghostly world where all her memories come together in a crazy pattern, and her friends’ murderer chases her through these memories, determined to kill her—and everyone she loves—once and for all. Reliving her memories and watching her friends die over and over is enough to drive anyone insane, but Renata must rise above that if she is to figure out who the killer is, and get back to her real life.

Patchwork is a fantastic read, fast-paced and with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing all the way to the final pages. There’s a bit of mythology here, not enough to overpower the action and the mystery, just enough to spice it up. I wanted to read this straight through, but real life had to take priority. This is a must-read for anyone who loves fast-paced fantasy with an edge.

(Galley provided by the author via NetGalley.)

Brew or Die, by Caroline Fardig

brew or die
Image belongs to Alibi.

Caroline Fardig is the USA Today best-selling author of Brew or Die, book four in the Java Jive Series.

Juliet Langley has turned over a new leaf. She’s been dating a new guy, John, a detective, and she’s much calmer these days, with no trace of the Angry She-Devil in sight. She just received her P.I. license, and now she gets to work a few cases with her friend Maya, trying to expose liars, cheaters, and other run-of-the-mill criminals. Her best friend Pete encourages her new pursuits, especially when their friend Shane comes to Juliet with his suspicions about his fiancé’s drug-related death.

Sound Juliet finds herself investigating the party planning company where Shane’s fiancé worked, and some suspicious goings-on at a local business. When she runs into her ex, Ryder, on one case, her calmer demeanor vanishes, as she’s still angry at his abandonment when she was attacked by a killer. But Ryder is a new man:  calm, collected, and in therapy for his issues. Most surprising of all:  he actually apologizes for his behavior, and tries to make amends, so Juliet finds herself working with him as they try to get to the bottom of one of the cases. Soon Juliet realizes that someone close to her is far more involved than she imagined, and the cops need her help to break the case…a far cry from her past role as murder suspect/super sleuth extraordinaire.

The Java Jive Series is light-hearted and funny, with Juliet always getting into one mess or another, (like Stephanie Plum). This time, Juliet’s moving on with her life when her past shows up with a vengeance in the form of the reformed Ryder. Between wedding gowns, wigs, and the wild side of Nashville, Juliet’s got more than she can handle without questions about her ex. Besides, she’s got a new boyfriend that she prefers…right? I love this series, and Brew or Die is a great addition to it that will make you laugh at Juliet’s adventures as she bumbles her way through life.

(Galley provided by Alibi.)

Fatal Option, by Chris Beakey

fatal-option
Image belongs to Post Hill Press.

Chris Beakey’s newest novel is Fatal Option.

Five Months ago, Stephen Porter’s wife died mysteriously in a car crash on the side of a mountain. Tonight, his 17-year-old daughter, Sara, calls in the middle of the night, crying hysterically, stranded on that same mountain in a blinding snowstorm. Stephen just went to sleep after binge drinking his wife’s death from his mind, and he knows he’s in no shape to drive. But he has no choice, so he sets off to bring Sara home.

Kieran O’Shea is also out in the snowstorm:  to bring his autistic brother, Aidan, home. Kieran is all Aidan has, but Kieran is afraid that he’ll lose Aidan if anyone ever finds out about the voices in his head. Then there’s the three murdered women… Soon Stephen and Kieran are on a collision course with disaster, one that will bring dark secrets to life, and reveal the truth of Stephen’s wife’s death. Sometimes, there are no easy choices.

This was a hard book to read. It isn’t easy. There are no clear-cut “good” guys or “bad” guys. You’ll feel sympathy for every single character…but disgust and probably anger as well. In the end, Fatal Option is about choices, and how they change us.

(Galley provided by Post Hill Press.)

Unpunished, by Lisa Black

unpunished
Image belongs to Kensington.

Lisa Black has worked as a forensic scientist. Unpunished is the second novel in the Gardiner/Renner books.

Maggie Gardiner is investigating the death of a copywriter at The Cleveland Herald, whose body was found late one night hanging from the printing machinery. Instead of a suicide, like first suspected, the death turns out to be murder, and is followed quickly by others, leaving Maggie no choice but to put her trust in the one person she doesn’t want to:  detective Jack Renner, whose dark secret haunts her every second.

For Maggie knows this dark secret:  that Jack is behind the vigilante killings that have eliminated murderers and other horrible criminals, criminals the law never gave justice to. But Maggie insists Jack stay on the right side of the law now, a pact that may haunt her, as Jack’s abilities may be the only thing that helps them solve the newspaper murders.

Unpunished was a new-to-me series. I love crime/forensic novels, and enjoy guessing the most unlikely characters as the murderer. While this novel had an interesting backstory, I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if I’d read the first one.

(Galley provided by Kensington.)

The Fifth Petal, by Brunonia Barry

5th-petal-coming-soon
Image belongs to Crown Publishing.

 

Brunonia Barry is the best-selling author of The Lace Reader and The Map of True Places. She grew up fascinated by Salem and with some of the accused witches in her family tree. After traveling the world, she returned to her roots in Salem. The Fifth Petal is her newest novel.

On Halloween night, a teenage boy dies suspiciously, in the presence of Rose Whelan, the eccentric person-of-interest in triple homicide decades ago. Chief of police John Rafferty isn’t from Salem, so he accepts nothing at face value. He thinks Rose had nothing to do with the boy’s death, and starts to question everything he’s heard about The Goddess Murders, the three women, all descended from accused Salem witches, who died so many years before.

While talk against Rose surfaces in the town, Rafferty must put aside his own issues to search for the truth behind The Goddess Murders. Because town gossip claims evil was raised the night of the murders. And with the truth no closer to the light than before, Rafferty starts to wonder if that evil will rise again.

The Fifth Petal had me hooked from the very first page. There’s an air of creepiness woven throughout the novel, and the historical roots of Salem—both good and evil—are explored in depth. The city lives and breathes on the pages, and I came to love the characters, especially the deeply troubled Rose. The Fifth Petal makes me want to visit Salem, which I’ve never had the desire for before. If you like creepy and a little bit scary mixed with your mystery, you’ll definitely love this book!

(Galley provided by Crown Publishing.)